FEBRUARY 9, 1942
WATKINS GETS CALL TO HALL
The lone former player inducted into the FABL Hall of Fame this year will be turn of the century hitting star Thomas 'Big Tom' Watkins. The 74 year old, who amassed 3,143 hits over his 17 year FABL career, will not go in alone however as he will be joined by the late Philadelphia Keystones owner Jefferson Edgerton, who's enshrinement was announced last month. The news today was all about Watkins, as the five-time Continental Association batting champ was the only player to receive enough votes this time around. Watkins, in fact, was an unanimous selection this year after falling just short in previous years on the ballot.
Until last week Watkins had been the only player in FABL history with at least 3,000 career hits who was not in the Hall of Fame. That changes now for the native of Cleveland, Ohio who in addition to having the 9th most hits in FABL history, is the games all-time leader with 581 career doubles. Watkins also ranks 8th all-time in career runs scored with 1,641, 10th in RBI's (1378), 11th in triples (218), 13th in games played (2337) and stolen bases (624), and 14th in career batting average (.338).
His big league career began 4 years before there was a FABL, as he debuted as a 20 year old in 1888 with the Washington Eagles of the old Century League. Two years later he moved to the Baltimore Clippers of the Peerless League and hit .312 that season to help the club capture a league title. He remained with the Clippers as they became part of the Continental Association with the formation of FABL in 1892 and he would win back to back batting titles 5 years later. Despite hitting .389 in 1897 the Clippers dealt him to Toronto following the season and he would once again immediately enjoy success in his new surroundings as he was a key piece of the Provincials (as they were known then) 1898 World Championship Series winning club. Watkins would win three more Continental Association batting titles with Toronto, and twice hit over .400 including a career best .407 in 1902. He was 35 entering the 1903 season and suddenly lost his touch at the plate as Watkins saw his average dip to what was at that point a career worst .278 in 1903, prompting Toronto to cut him loose. He struggled through one final big league season with the New York Gothams in 1904 but was a mere shadow of his former self and was once again let go at the end of the season. His illustrious career finished in the shadows of the minor leagues with 125 games over two years with Newark of the Union League before he retired.
The wait to join the Hall of Fame was a long time coming for Watkins, who had been under consideration for induction every season since the Hall was first announced in 1937. He becomes the third Ohio born player, joining Max Morris and Allan Allen, to be inducted.
Three players came very close but once again fell short of election. They include Bill Craigen. who had 2906 hits over a 19 year career with the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones before going on to win 4 WCS as a manager with the Stars, as well as Jim Golden, who was the only pitcher to win two Whtiney Awards, and Bill Temple, winner of 284 games with 3 teams in the first decade of this century.
LEAGUES OKAY MORE NIGHT GAMES
A joint meeting of FABL owners voted to permit each club to play up to 14 night games at home but to allow the Washington Eagles to schedule 21. This is an increase over the seven home games previously permitted each club - a war-time increase for which the advice of President Roosevelt was partially responsible. The vote was unanimous and followed considerable debate. It was FABL President Sam Belton - who presided at the meeting - suggestion that Washington be permitted the 21 games. Owner William Stockdale of the Eagles had insisted upon 28.
The league voted that no inning of a night game shall be started after 12:50 am (new war time). This measure was decided upon to make certain that workers - particularly those in Government or war industries- would not be kept up late at night. The league also decided that no restrictions will be placed upon Sunday doubleheaders. Previously no twin bills were permitted until after the third Sunday of the season.
In other news the league decided it was not feasible to follow Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott's plan of scheduling a second all-star game against a team of military players. The logistics just did not work suggested Belton, but it was agreed that a portion of the proceeds from the July 7th game in Pittsburgh be donated towards the war effort. It was also announced that all FABL officials and executives, including President Belton, had agreed to accept 10 percent of their salaries in war bonds or stamps and the baseball men expressed the hope that players and other employees would follow suit in this voluntary action. Finally, both associations will co-operate with morale officers of the Army and Navy. This means apparently that clubs will have various affiliated minor league outfits play exhibition games with Army teams if so requested.
Haggling this week over catch-penny stuff like night baseball dates and Sunday doubleheaders, FABL's owners fumbled the ball completely when it came to making a genuine patriotic move and failed to even agree on letting service men in for nothing and for the duration. Despite having Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott show them the gangplank and blue-printed every step in his speech a week ago, they missed the boat. Facing a golden chance to strike a blow for God, for Country and for self, they struck out. It is incredible that big operators in a business as dependent on good will as baseball is should court disaster this way.
The magnates have been very generous donating dough out of the fans' and the players' pockets. That statement was made even more painfully true when they failed to offer even reduced price to allow men in uniform to visit the ballpark. Mr. Magnut had a chance to pick up a small tab for Uncle Sam yesterday but he outfumbled Sam, the service men- and himself.
----WHERE ARE THE BRAINS?----
Baseball, looking to it's 'grand old men' for leadership in tempestuous times like these, has been sorely disappointed. Wash Whitney, who has been through all this before in World War I, is running, not walking toward the nearest exit looking for a way out. Whitney had a chance to make a statement when a number of the newer magnates like Detroit's Powell Thompson and Dee Rose in St Louis voiced heavy objection to any discount for service men. Whitney had an opportunity to live up to his father's legacy and tell the youngsters just how it will be. But he did not raise so much as a peep in objection and the matter of reduced price or free admission for soldiers was quickly abandoned.
Perhaps the sorriest black eye baseball received this meeting was administered by Washington boss William Stockdale, who seemed only intent on one thing - getting his ballclub as many night games as possible in an effort to increase attendance at Columbia Stadium and his bottom line. He pushed for a quick end to discussions on free admission, blocked every attempt to table a plan for a charity all-star game with an Army team, all in order to advance his own agenda of night baseball dates. The magnates squabbled for hours about that matter, acting like hens bickering over a grain of corn while a fat worm wiggled away.
Those who tried to squelch Stockdale's ambitious after-dark plan might have remembered it was strictly Bill's head in the noose, that the 28 games he wanted to play might have turned into the best possible argument against future night baseball. They might have remembered over-ambitious night baseball plans may backfire because Mr. American, moving under forced draft in industry now, will be working on the night shift also this summer. They should have remembered that little things like a power shortage or a token air raid may snatch this night baseball bone of contention right out of all their hungry mouths.
Prescott pushed for the magnates to better themselves, focus on raising some real dough to get into step with the marching boys, but instead they offered a mere pittance of some of the profits from the mid-summer all-star game in Pittsburgh and did nothing for the service man, or their reputation.
REGIONAL ROUND COMPLETED
Round three of the FABL rookie player draft has been completed and scouting directors can now pause briefly before turning their attention to the upcoming college and prep baseball seasons. Rounds four through twenty-five will, as usual, take place in June as it is strictly the first three rounds that are completed in the winter. The first two rounds are open selections while the third round is a regional round, allowing teams to only select players born in their home state/province or one that directly borders it. Here are the players selected in this year's regional round.
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THIRD (REGIONAL) ROUND AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN
1- Washington Billy Cox 20 1B Columbia Military Big Stone Gap, VA
2- Montreal Polly Frontenac 17 CF San Jose (CA) HS Leduc, AB
3- St Louis Artie Smith 17 C Waukon (IA) HS Waukon, IA
4- Cleveland Jack Littlefield 21 SS Coastal State Ravenna, OH
5- NY Gothams Tom Richardson 20 P Eastern Sate Jersey City, NJ
6- Sailors Dick Gill 17 SS Bangor (PA) HS Trenton, NJ
7- Keystones Bob Blackwell 18 1B Hokendauqua (PA) HS Brooklyn, NY
8- Toronto Bill Sullivan 20 OF Henry Hudson Duluth, MN
9- Chiefs Willie Hill 17 P Eau Claire (WI) HS Eau Claire, WI
10- Cincinnati Nellie Walters 21 SS Oklahoma City State Philadelphia, PA
11- Detroit Gene Smyth 18 C Auburn (IN) HS Auburn, IN
12- Brooklyn Bill Olson 17 CF Harrison (NJ) HS Williston Park, NY
13- Pittsburgh Pat Wolter 17 P Mifflin HS, Columbus Parkersburg, WV
14- NY Stars John Morrow 19 SS Rainier College New York, NY
15- Boston Art Schiller 18 OF Walpole (MA) HS Walpole, MA
16- Cougars Bill Chapman 18 P Edina (MO) HS Edina, MO
QUICK HITS
- Hurt and somewhat bewildered by criticism fired their way after the owners meetings earlier this week, the big league bigwigs are re-forming their lines according to the latest scuttlebutt. Probably the net result will be a substantial addition to the defense program of the game. Chances are the owners won't adopt Daniel Prescott's proposal to divert a certain percentage of their gate receipts through the season into some patriotic channel. They are more like to set up a series of "Defense Days" - at least one in every big league ballpark. Each club would then likely pick out a moderately attractive date on it's home schedule - something like a Tuesday afternoon when a crowd of anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 normally could be expected, depending on the city. The occasion could be designated will in advance and special features could be arranged. Star pitchers could be pointed to duel it out that day and the clubs would be assured of plenty of publicity on a patriotic motif from the press and radio. And afterwards the entire gross receipts could be turned over to the Government.
- Max Morris, who recently turned 47 years young, predicts that increased night baseball in the big leagues would lessen the physical efficiency of the players. "The greatly increased number of night games can't help but hurt the players," Might Mo opined. FABL has approved 161 nocturnal games- more than double the 77 of last year. "Playing such a large number of night games probably will weaken -and may even run- their eyes. The change of diets also is going to have an effect," added Morris noting a ballplayer usually gets his dinner at about 6 pm but when they play night ball they can't eat heavy before the game and it's going to be 1 o'clock in the morning before they have dinner. Morris was not so worried when there were fewer night games but feels the trend towards more night ballgames is just getting started.
- Pete Papenfus was the CA's only 20-game winner last season but now that he is in the Navy will we see a 20-game winner in the Continental Association next season? Only twice before in the modern era (human GM) has the CA not produced a 20-game winner. That was in 1932 when Rabbit Day, William Jones and Dick Luedtke all won 19 and in 1939 when Billy Riley of the Stars was the leader with 19 victories. Only Boston's Ed Wood won 20 in the Fed last season, but that loop has never failed to deliver at least one twenty-game winner since the human GM's came onto the scene in 1926.
- With the threat of a Japanese attack on the mainland less likely, the Army has okayed baseball on the west coast this season. Indoor events like college basketball and boxing were allowed to hold events again a few weeks ago and now the way has been paved for the AAA Great Western League and Class B COW (California-Oregon-Washington) Leagues to go ahead with their full schedule. However, the Governor of California cautioned "the enemy situation cannot be forecast" and the situation might change.
NAVY SCHOOL CLIMBING THE RANKINGS
Annapolis Maritime is quietly working it's way up the college basketball polls as the naval academy looks to follow up an outstanding AIAA football season with success on the hardwood. The Navigators have won 17 of their last 18 games and are up to seventh in the latest ranking list as they attempt to rebound from missing the national tournament last season for the first time in 12 years. Annapolis Maritime has never won the National Tournament but they did reach the semi-final game twice with the most recent appearance being in 1931-32.
CCLA, thanks to running it's West Coast Athletic Association record to 7-0 with wins over Portland Tech and Redwood, slipped ahead of Liberty College for top spot this week. The Coyotes have a big lead in the top conference out west as 5 teams are tied for second but all own a 4-3 record. As for the Bells, their stay at #1 last just one week but they are still a perfect 7-0 in Northeast Conference play after edging #20 St. Martin's College 48-47 on Saturday.
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AIAA BASKETBALL TOP TWENTY FPV REC LW
1. CC Los Angeles (37) 18-2 2 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Liberty College (29) 19-2 1 Northeast Conference
3. Great Plains State (6) 23-3 3 Independent
4. Garden State 16-4 5 Northeast Conference
5. Brooklyn State 17-3 6 Northeast Conference
6. Detroit City College 15-4 4 Great Lakes Alliance
7. Annapolis Maritime 22-4 7 Independent
8. Central Ohio 14-5 8 Great Lakes Alliance
9. Whitney College 16-3 12 Great Lakes Alliance
10. North Carolina Tech 16-5 16 South Atlantic Conference
11. Coastal California 14-6 10 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Rainier College 17-4 9 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Western Iowa 15-5 13 Great Lakes Alliance
14. Minnesota Tech 15-4 14 Great Lakes Alliance
15. Chesapeake State 14-5 11 South Atlantic Conference
16. St. Ignatius 12-7 17 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Ohio Poly 18-7 19 Independent
18. Miami State 17-5 15 Independent
19. Columbia Military Academy 14-6 NR South Atlantic Conference
20. St. Martin's College 12-7 NR Northeast Conference
LAST WEEK RESULTS INVOLVING TOP TEN SCHOOLS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 2
#5 Brooklyn State 56 Frankford State 49
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4
#2 Liberty College 54 Commonwealth Catholic 42
#7 Annapolis Maritime 62 Jersey City Tech 50
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5
#9 Whitney College 47 #13 Western Iowa 38
#6 Detroit City College 42 Lincoln 34
#10 North Carolina Tech 51 Richmond State 43
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6
#1 CCLA 59 Portland Tech 44
#3 Great Plains State 46 Dudley 27
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7
#2 Liberty College 48 #20 St Martin's College 47
#4 Garden State 53 Frankford State 36
#5 Brooklyn State 45 Commonwealth Catholic 44
Wisconsin State 57 #6 Detroit City College 56
#8 Central Ohio 45 Lincoln 41
#16 St Ignatius 49 #9 Whitney College 43
#10 North Carolina Tech 56 Central Carolina 54
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8
#1 CCLA 48 Redwood 46
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/08/1942
- General MacArthur's defenders of Batan Peninsula have shattered a Japanese offensive in one of the most savage battles of the Philippines struggle, forcing the Japanese to flee to the sea. The British also report success in Burma while the Americans blasted six bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands.
- Japanese planes countered with a ferocious dive bombing attack on Singapore, raking the city indiscriminately.
- Despite destroying several U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean the past few weeks another American tanker has been torpedoed by an enemy submarine.
- A New York City area municipal executive warns of a rash of bankruptcies facing local governments unless emphatic measures are taken to recognize the impact of the national war effort on their fiscal problems.
- Military authorities issued detailed orders for the evacuation of designated areas of Honolulu by all women and children in the event of a Japanese attempt to land forces on the island.
- Rear Admiral Hubbard and Major General Short, accused of dereliction of duty that made the Pearl Harbor attack possible, have both filed papers applying for retirement at $6,000 a year. At ages 60 and 61 respectively and with a minimum of 30 years of service they would each be eligible for a life pension of 80% of their base pay.